• Black-necked swans on Best Lake?

    Question

    Two black necked swan at Walter Best Preserve are suppose to be native of Brazil. What am I seeing? Sorry, no pictures, they stayed out in the middle of the lake.

    Naturalist's Response

    Although it is spring migration and these swans are native to South American, it is doubtful that these two swans resting on the lake have migrated. Their local range in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and southern Brazil is far enough south that they would have migrated farther south to summer breeding grounds.

    It is most likely that they are a pair of escaped domesticated swans. They can be bought as ornamental waterfowl. Usually, these domestic waterfowl are pinioned or have had their wings clipped so that they cannot fly off your pond or leave the area. Which still leaves the mystery of how they got to Walter C. Best. 

     -Naturalist Trevor Wearstler